Celebrating Saskatchewan Waste Reducers -
2008 Waste Minimization Awards
The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council hosted Saskatchewan's 13th Waste Minimization Awards ceremony on April 2, 2009, at 7:30 p.m. at the Park Town Hotel in Saskatoon.
"The Awards recognize waste minimization leadership by Saskatchewan individuals, youth and schools, corporations and partnerships for 2008," said Bert Weichel, Chairperson of the Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council. "Their actions clearly demonstrate how we, as individuals, groups or industry, can have an impact that helps to reduce the amount of waste going into our landfills."
Awards were presented by Greg Ottenbreit, Legislative Secretary on Recycling, with Bert Weichel, Chair of the SWRC.
| The Youth/School awards acknowledge youth and/or schools who have demonstrated exemplary commitment and leadership by involving peers, schools, neighbours, or communities in waste reduction and conservation efforts. The 2008 award was given to the Grade Six class of Kipling High School. In 2008, Kipling's Grade Six class sent letters to the Mayor and Council expressing their concerns about plastic shopping bags and their effect on the environment. As a result, the town, the Chamber of Commerce and the local waste authority jointly bought 500 canvas bags. The Grade Six students went door to door on their lunch hour and handed out the bags to Kipling residents, explaining the effect of plastic bags on the environment and encouraging everyone to use the cloth bags. This is a great story of young people making a difference in their own community. |
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| The 2008 Municipal Awards was given to the Town of Pilot Butte. In 2007, the town changed the name of its planning committee to the Sustainable Planning Committee. Recycling programs for fibre, plastic and tin resulted in the diversion of 72 tonnes of materials from landfill in 2008. The municipality itself is actively engaged in waste reduction: recycling and reducing paper use, adopting energy efficient technologies in their buildings, grasscycling and landscaping without chemicals. They've also purchased a wood chipper and pick up trimmings from residents to use for mulch. The Town also works to educate residents about green practices. |
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| The Non-Profit award recognizes the significant contribution that non-profit and grass roots groups make in helping us all reduce waste. This year's recipient was the Saskatchewan Environmental Society for their Destination Conservation Saskatchewan (DCS) program. The program gives students the skills and information to reduce waste at school, at home and in their communities. Students design and implement a variety of behaviour change campaigns on conserving energy and water and reducing waste. During its 17 year history, DCS has reached 201 schools from across the province. The program is currently working with 60 schools and more than 20,000 students. |
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All
of the winners demonstrate a strong commitment to waste minimization and have made our province a better place to live. We congratulate them!